John Ryan: Portrait

When I think of the big moments in my life - graduations, birthdays, my wedding - there were always a slew of friends from high school there. I'm not quite sure what it is (we frequently joke they put something in the water in our hometown) but there is something about knowing someone from a time when you wore braces and went to prom that just means they really know you somehow. Today I count among my closest friends people I met in high school, in middle school, even some from preschool.

John Ryan is one of those friends "from home." Even his name is homage to the length of time I've known him. He always went by Ryan, his middle name, in high school. Somehow, in college it became easier for him to go by his real first name but for those of us who had spent four years or more calling him "Ryan" the transition to "John" has taken considerable time. As a compromise, I call him John Ryan or JRR.

Our conversations are always peppered with "Hey, do you remember when..." and "Man, that one time..." So for me the challenge of this portrait session was all about showing the duality of knowing someone and capturing that in the images, yet still trying to do something new. We worked together on the concept and logistics of the shoot. I think the results are fun and fantastic.

John, Ryan, JRR, Ry Rob... by whatever name I am glad to call you friend. Thanks for letting me experiment and take your picture!

My Number One Fan

One of the hardest things about starting out as a photographer is building your portfolio (mine was previously all film) and getting lots of practice in. While photo shoots are actually quite entertaining and I try to make them really fun, it also feels like you're asking a lot to have someone pull several outfits and then subject themselves to hours of posing. Luckily, I am blessed with some friends and family that are willing to help me out and suffer for my art!

This last weekend, I spent the afternoon with my friend Ryan shooting some portraits. Even better, his lovely and very supportive girlfriend took charge of the refreshments for our afternoon and made us some yummy snacks. She and my husband, Scott also were on hand to help out, whether it was moving furniture, props, styling, or heckling from the peanut gallery.

I can't wait to post some pictures from the actual shoot, but until then, I just wanted to say thanks!

Susan is the ultimate hostess, always cooking and dreaming up interesting new recipes. I admire her so much for recently changing career paths (never an easy thing to do!) and enrolling at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute to become a professional chef. Now she has even more exciting recipes and tricks to try out.

And then there's this guy. No, not the guy cracking up; that's Ryan. The guy holding the backdrop cloth (aka blue tablecloth - we're not fancy here!) and playing assistant for me - my husband. It wouldn't be fair to really call him my assistant, but he's always happy to tag along and do assistant like tasks to help me out. I'm incredibly, supremely blessed that my husband is also my number one fan. Well, currently probably my ONLY fan! But he supports me and encourages me more than anyone I've ever met. It gives me such reassurance knowing he is my partner and best friend.

As you can see below, he is also quite the ham...